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Missing girl is found in lock-up

Report and exclusive pictures by Alex Scapens and Tony Carter
23/ 4/2008

THIS is the squalid lock-up where police found a missing teenager, 24 hours after she disappeared from home.

Officers discovered the 15-year-old in the ramshackle building on Hollingworth Road, Bredbury, following what watching residents described as a ‘cloak and dagger’ operation.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been reported missing on Wednesday (April 16) and was traced to this shed, where officers forced their way in using bolt cutters.

Nearby worker Johnny Doyle, from Flynn Utilities, said police had used his compound opposite the site as a base during the operation.

He added: "They used our compound to observe so they were not immediately obvious from the road. It was cloak and dagger stuff. We were working on the Bents Lane junction and police asked us for bolt cutters, but we didn’t have any."

Police confirmed the girl was found safe and well. She is recovering at home with her family.

Passer-by Jason Shepherd, of Stockport Road West, said: "I saw a lot of police breaking into the lock-up and on Friday I saw forensics in white suits. It was like something off a film, it’s shocking as you don’t expect it on your own doorstep and that lock-up is no place for a young girl. It’s weird to think I walked past and she must have been in there."

A 41-year-old man has been arrested and charged with child abduction and sexual activity with a child under 16.

Derek Myers, of no fixed abode, went before Stockport magistrates on Monday and was remanded to reappear on Monday of next week.